Market Gardening

CODE: ICJA2606

Work:

Your help is needed for various construction projects! Among other things, we are renovating our earth cellar using the light clay construction method. The aim is to create more space for vegetables and achieve better insulation. We would also like to build a small hobbit house in the ground for our team, again using the light clay construction method and natural log technique, to create a cool place for lunch breaks etc. in summer.
Another manual labour will be to renovate other facilities on the farm.
In August, every garden is in the fullness of its harvest season!
Tomatoes sweetened by the sun, courgettes and cucumbers growing at a fast speed and need hard-working hands and hungry mouths. But the weeds don't stop growing either. That's why there will be the opportunity to help out in the daily business of Market gardening like harvesting, weeding, planting seeds and caring of small plants in the nursery all the time! In other words, there would not only be the opportunity to experience the multifaceted gardening at first hand, but also to master manual and physical work in a team. So if you have extra energy, you are more than welcome!

Study part: In our work, we follow the principle of “Market Garden”: Here is what it looks like: on the smallest possible area, as many crops as possible are cultivated without the use of groundwater-damaging fertiliser, only with the help of compost. The most important idea here is recycling, in order to work with as little labour, pesticides and land as possible. Learning gardening skills, the cycle concept and environmental aspects in agriculture are therefore important learning elements during the work camp. Permaculture and biodynamic principles can be experienced here. The care and feeding of chickens and sheep can also be learned in practice. Another important part is building with natural materials. We plan to implement old craft techniques that were used to build houses and infrastructure without modern technology, yet were very energy efficient.

Accomodation and food

Most of the organic seasonal food comes directly from the field to your plate. Everything else that is needed will be purchased. The diet will be predominantly vegetarian. Cooking will take place together in the outdoor kitchen and there will also be the possibility to cook a "classic" dish from your country of origin. Next to the kitchen, there is also a fireplace for sitting together in the evening, so your musical instruments are most welcome! We will also use the clay oven for pizza at least once.
As far as sleeping is concerned, we will either set up a communal tent directly on the field or provide some beds in construction trailers. A small hutch will serve as our shower, a composting toilet is already part of the sanitary facilities in the field.
Please be ready to live in very basic conditions; you will live outdoors most of the time and close to nature. The work will be physically demanding.

Location and leisure

Region: Michels Kleinsthof is located between the Black Forest and the Vosges in the border triangle in one of the most beautiful regions of Germany. A nearby quarry pond can be easily reached after work with bicycles provided by the farm and the young, alternative and beautiful student city of Freiburg is also less than 10 minutes away by train. The farm itself is located in a small village called Tunsel, but the entire region is bursting with nature and cultural tourism opportunities. If you are travelling by plane, we would very much appreciate it if you could extend your stay in Central Europe even further, so as not to use climate-damaging mobility just for our project.

Project hosted by

Michels Kleinsthof is working towards the utopia of a sustainable, resilient, and grandchild-friendly agriculture becoming reality. More than 50 different crops are grown on one hectare using the “Market Gardening” principle. We are part of the movement “Community based agriculture” (in Germany, this is called “Solidarity Farming — Solidarische Landwirtschaft”). This means members are involved in the work on a weekly basis to bring sustainable food production to the people. School classes are allowed to experience agriculture firsthand and enjoy looking after chicken, sheep and bees.
There is a great variety of tasks in our diverse garden! Diversity makes us independent of the agricultural industries. It also benefits our fellow creatures of all kinds.
We deliver a large portion of our products to our 90 Solidarity Farming members, while another
part is sold at the market in the picturesque nearby town of Staufen.
However, Michel's micro-farm sees itself not only as a food producer, but also as a place of learning and a nature conservation project! Agriculture is the number one cause of species extinction worldwide and is responsible for 25% of climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions. On one of the most fertile soils in Germany, nestled in a beautiful spot between the Vosges and the Black Forest, the micro-farm sets a counterexample to the monocultures of the rest of the Rhine Valley.

Directions to meeting point

Additional comments

Please bring a sleeping bag, swimwear and preferably sturdy shoes for working in the garden. Please note that you will get dirty in the garden, so clothes that can get dirty and are old are recommended. Remember that the sunshine could be strong and you should bring suitable headgear and sufficient sun protection. Long-sleeved, thin clothing will also work for this.
The living conditions will be very simple, so please be prepared.
Note that it is not recommended to attend if you are allergic to weed.